


A fight for you

by Areky



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Agressive Keith, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Dancer Lance, Fluff, Gay Keith, Gender-Neutral Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Happy Ending?, Hispanic Lance (Voltron), Hurt Lance (Voltron), I Tried, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Keith/Lance (Voltron) Angst, Klance is my soul, Korean Keith (Voltron), Lance is a prick, Langst, M/M, Mentions of Blood, Mentions of Sex, This ship is the reason why I'm still alive, bi lance, bonding moment, fighter keith, klance, klangst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-16
Updated: 2018-03-03
Packaged: 2019-03-02 17:59:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 12,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13323501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Areky/pseuds/Areky
Summary: They were the exact opposite. Keith Hyeon is professional fighter. Lance San Antonio was a professional dancer. Lance had a huge family. Keith barely had family. Lance liked the colour blue. Keith liked the colour red. Lance liked dogs. Keith liked cats. Lance liked it hot. Keith liked it cold. But one day, something happens and never had a stranger become so important.





	1. Notes

**Author's note:**  It's one of my first time, writing and publishing. This story is sort of my coping mechanism during my dark times. I enjoyed writing it and I thought it was fun. I also love Klance ATM. Forgive me if I have made any grammar mistakes (or any mistakes in general). This story can also be found on Wattpad on my other account @_areky_.Anyways, enjoy. 

**Character age -**

Lance - 21

Keith - 22

Allura - 25

Shiro - 29

Pidge - 19

Hunk - 21


	2. Part 1

The poor young man was already running as fast as his legs could take him. Somehow, it still wasn't fast enough. 

Zooming past the crowd was Lance San Antonio. The Cuban boy was already late. This was unacceptable. He could feel his legs burning. His lungs ached from distorting breathing. Beads of sweat rolled down the side of his head. A slight buzz in his head.

"Excuse me!" Lance cried as he pushed past several other pedestrians. He was nearly there. He checked his watch which read; 9.34 A.M. 

Lance swore under his breath, his stupid backpack bouncing on his back, making it difficult to draw breaths. He could feel his phone buzz in the left pocket of his jacket. It was probably Hunk wondering where he was. Or Pidge. Or maybe even Allura. Ignoring, the buzzing phone, Lance picked up the pace realising how much he slowed down. 

Nearly there. He breathed. He could see it in the distance. The studio. With all his energy, he boosted himself. He could hear the pounding music from outside. Music that makes him want to move his hips. Music that wants to make him move his shoulders. Music that makes him want to dance.

Lance burst through the door like a panting dog. "I'm sorry, I'm late." He panted. "I'm sorry."

"It's about time," Allura placed her hands on a hip. She reminded Lance of his mother. He shivered at the thought of his mother getting angry. "This is the 7th time this month, Lance." 

"I know, I know," Lance dropped his bag onto the ground. "I'm sorry alright."

"What's even worse was that you interrupted us," Allura rolled her eyes, ignoring his apology. 

"Yeah," Pidge was at the other end, rising from a difficult dance position. "What's your excuse this time?" 

Lance gulped. He knew it was a lame excuse, but it was the truth. "My alarm clock wasn't working." 

Pidge simply snorted. Allura groaned, clearly annoyed. 

"It's true!" Lance cried. "I knew you guys wouldn't believe me anyways." 

"I never said that I didn't believe you." Allura was practicing a few moves. 

"Whatever," Lance tried to change the subject. "Where's Hunk?" 

"He's out to get tea." Pidge replied. 

"But weren't you guys working on the dance?" Lance was confused. 

"The choreography?" Allura was stretching. "No, Pidge and I were working on their solo."

"Your solo?" Lance felt giddy. "You never told me you were doing a solo, Pidge!"

"I'm sorry, I needed to tell you because?" Pidge raised an eyebrow. 

"I thought we were friends!" Lance grabbed at the left side of his chest, as if he were squeezing his heart. 

"I've only decided that I was going to perform a solo last week." Pidge took a sip of water. "Besides, its not like I am doing the solo. I've got to audition first." Pidge suddenly lit up with excitement. "Which reminds me, Lance. They called and said that you got the solo."

Lance's heart lit up with happiness and joy. He swore he could feel it explode in his chest. There was an upcoming competition in a few months. The team had an audition for a choreography. Allura had also auditioned for a ballet solo. Lance auditioned for a solo too. 

"I got the solo?!" He screamed. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. 

Allura giggled. "Yes Lance. You got the solo." 

"Yesyesyeysyesyesyes!" Lance ran around the studio, jumping up and down. He was the happiest person alive. He was sure of it. 

"Hey guys!" Hunk poked his head through the door. "What did I miss?"

"Hunk!" Lance screamed and ran at him. "I got the solo!" 

"Oh my god!" Hunk pulled Lance into a bone-crushing hug. "I'm so happy for you!" 

"HuNk-" Lance barely managed.

Hunk understood and immediately released him. 

"We all are happy for you, Lance," Allura smiled and placed a gentle hand on Lance's shoulder as he took in deep and very much needed breaths. 

"Thank you all," Lance had a wave of relief wash over him. "Thank you , really."

"We're here for you," Hunk placed his bag down. "Always."

"Hey!" Pidge's face lit up with excitement. "How 'bout we go see the UEB as a celebration of Lance getting his solo? My brother Matt, works there, maybe he can get us front row tickets!"

"UEB?" Allura frowned. "What's that?"

"'Ultimate Empire Battles? It's like UFC or cage fighting. But it's kind of different, but also similar? Like, the rules are different. You fight in teams and regions instead of individually. Though, a team can be represented by an individual. But that's not the point, the point is, it's a super amazing sport that you can watch and it's super duper cool. Trust me. Matt used to take me to those when I was like eight and I loved it." Pidge rambled. It was out of habit. 

"Your brother took you to watch people beat up each other when you were eight?" Lance's jaw dropped. 

"Yeah!" Pidge jumped around with excitement. "It's really really cool! Can we please go? Please?" 

"Um, yeah, no." Lance scrunched his nose. 

"What!" Pidge stopped dancing. "No!? Why not!"

"First," Lance crossed his arms over his chest, standing up tall. "We are not watching people beat up each other as a celebration of my solo. Second, this is my solo. So I get to decide where we're celebrating and what we're doing. I mean, do we really want to watch people beat each other up? That's cruel."

Pidge open their mouth to protest, but no words came up. Instead, they groaned in annoyance.

"Fine!" Pidge gave in. "But it better not be an arcade!"

Lance smirked and the rest immediately recognised that stupid smirk. It was the kind of smirk that he'd put on before saying a cheesy pickup line. 

"Ladies and gentlemen and Pidge, we are going to the club."

————————————————————————————————————————————————

He could feel his hands shaking at his side. His breath becoming shorter by the second. His heart beating faster. His muscle tense. The was crowd roaring ahead of him. He stood under the tunnel, shaking. Why was he so scared? He had done this before. It's just a fight. 

"Keith," A soothing, familiar voice, echoes from the back. 

"Shiro," Keith breathed. 

"Hey," Shiro placed a hand on Keith's shoulder. "You're going to do great." 

The nervous lad smiled in return. "You think so?"

Shiro let out a small chuckle. "Keith, I've been coaching you for two years now. I know so."

Keith felt warm and more relieved inside. Having his 'hero' coach him and lead him to where he is now was a dream come true. When Keith was 13, his foster parents took him to his first UEB match. He could remember it all so clearly. Shiro had only just begun his career then as a UEB fighter, but was already entitled as 'The Champion'.

Back then, Shiro had represented a region called 'Voltron'. Though he was the only member in the region, it had topped the first 5 regions in the ladder board. Now? Now, Keith takes over. 

"Go get 'em, Keith." Shiro pats him on the shoulder, signalling that it's finally time.

Keith took a deep breath and walked towards the opening. With every step he took, the crowd got wilder and louder. Keith popped the mouth guard into his mouth and tightened his fists. His pulse grew quicker and harder. He could hear the announcer starting off with his intro. 

'KEITH HYEON AKA THE RED PALADIN OF VOLTRON!'

Keith stepped out. The crowd was roaring. He raised his arms high in the air and earned a chant from the crowd. 

'AND HIS OPPONENT,' the announcer turned to the corner, opposite of Keith's. 'HAXUS JOAN AKA GENERAL HAXUS OF THE GALRAN EMPIRE!'

From the other corner, emerged a tall man. Tall, but lean. About a head taller than Keith stood. Muscles that clearly defined and showed. His hair was pulled back into a bun at the back of his head. A long, deep scar ran from the left side of his forehead to his jaw. Keith remembered how he got the scar. It was an ugly fight. One that Keith didn't find so enjoyable. 

Even though Keith was scared, he didn't show it. The young man stood his ground, looking his opponent straight in eye. They stood a metre apart from each other, not breaking eye contact. 

The umpire stood beside both of them. "Okay, I want a clean fight. When bell chimes, the match starts and it goes on for ten minutes. When the bell chimes a second time, you stop for your seven-minute break. When the bell chimes the third time, you get back into the ring, no excuses. This goes on until one of you can no longer go on. Understood?"

"Yes," Haxus smirked, flashing a row of metal teeth. Keith knew that those metal teeth were just there to replace his actual teeth that had been knockout. Haxus didn't wear mouth guards.

"Keith?" The umpire called out. 

Keith simply nodded, unable to speak. 

With a nod from the umpire, the bell goes off.

 


	3. Part 2

**(WARNING: TRIGGERING HOMOPHOBIA)**

Lance tapped his foot impatiently on the rough concrete. They had only been waiting for 8 minutes, but the boy was already complaining.

"It's taking ages!" Lance whined. "If I were the one driving, we'd be at the club by now!"

"It's only been 8 minute Lance." Hunk shivered. "How 'bout we head inside and wait for Allura?" He added.

"No! I'm hopping in the car once she gets here." Lance pouted. "Besides, it's not even that cold." He lied. Lance was shivering. The poor boy didn't stand a chance against the weather. 

Before Hunk could retort, a red Toyota Corolla pulled up in the driveway. 

"It's about time." Lance mumbled under his breath.

The window lowered, revealing Allura. She was wearing a light layer of makeup. Her silver-white hair hung around her shoulders, standing out against her tanned skin. She wore a cute black dress that hugged her body perfectly. A diamond bracelet gleamed from her right wrist. Rod earrings dangled from her ears. 

Pidge was seating in the passenger seat, eyes glued onto the screen on her phone. They wore a black hooded sweatshirt with a green marijuana leaf symbol in the centre, a pair of ripped jeans and a red beanie. 

"Sorry if I'm late." Allura apologised half-heartedly. 

"Marijuana, Pidge?" Lance teased, ignoring the apology that he had longed to hear. 

"Yeah," Pidge looked up at Lance. "At least not: 'Bi is good.'" They read his cropped top. "The hell? It's not even catchy!?"

"What's supposed to be catchy?" Lace threw his arms up in the air. "Is being bi suppose to be catchy?"

Initially, Lance was going to wear something else, but then decided that it was too much. Instead, he threw on a simple cropped top which read: 'Bi is good'  in the colours that represented the bi flag. A pair of black jeans that were ripped at both knees so that the blue fishnets that he wore wearing underneath, showed. A thin blue jacket hung loosely around his waist. Some accessories,too. 

"Whatever," Pidge mumbled. 

"Are you getting in?" Allura rolled her eyes. "Or are you going to just stand there and lose valuable club time?"

"Alright, alright!" Lance opened the car door and slid in the back in one swift motion. "Calm down, 'Princess Allur-late.'" He snickered at his own roast. 

"At least, she's not like you, 'King Impatient'." Pidge earned a high five from Allura. Hunk was trying to keep himself from laughing. 

"'At least, she's not like you, 'King Impatient'." Lance mimicked in a high-pitched voice. 

The gang took off and headed for the club.

————————————————————————————————————————————————

Music pounded. Bodies moved. Lights flashed. This was Lance's thing. Partying and moving to the beat. Exactly, what he loved . 

There was an ocean of grooving bodies on the dance floor. Lance's heart pounded to the beat of the music. Flashing lights blinded him, but he didn't care. 

"I'm going to get us drink! Meet me in the table at the back in awhile!" Hunk yelled over the music,barely audible. Lance nodded as Hunk disappeared into the crowd, leaving Lance, Allura and Pidge. 

"Let's dance!" Allura was already starting to move her body. 

"In a moment," Lance smirked. "First, I gotta find a somebody to dance with." He wiggled his eyebrows at the word 'somebody'. 

"Gross," Pidge muttered and disappeared into the crowd with Allura.

"Alright," Lance was feeling extra confident tonight. "You've got this Lance." 

Lance had spotted a group of giggling girls afar. Automatically, his legs took him there. 

"Hey," He walked up to them. "How you ladies doing tonight?"

The girls simply giggled. 

"Good." A girl scanned Lance from head to toe. "What about you?"

"Never better." Lance smirked. 

"What's the name?" Another girl asked, twirling her hair. 

"The name's Lance." 

"Just Lance?"

"That's all you need to know, for now." He leaned in.

"Mysterious. I like it." 

"I'm glad you do." Lance was becoming giddy. "Care to dance with me?"

The girl frowned. "I'm leaving in about a tick."

Lance's giddiness faded. 

"But," the girl whipped out a pen. "Here's my number."

Lance smiled. "Your name?"

"Nyma." She smiled as she placed the pen back into her purse. 

"Catch you later, Nyma." Lance winked. " And ladies." 

Lance looked at the number on his wrist and felt proud. His confidence boosted. He was feeling courages and decided that this time, he'd flirt with men. 

In a far distance, there were 3 men chatting amongst themselves. This is it. Lance took deep breathes. What could go so wrong? If they are straight, just apologise and walk away. Lance straightened his posture.  _You've got this Lance._

Lance walked up to them, he could feel his heart pound hard against his rib cage. His legs were shaking a little, but he walked it off. 

"Hi," Lance cooly played it off. 

"Can we help you?" A guy in a leather jacket, scanned his bi shirt. Lance immediately felt uncomfortable, as if he were being looked at, naked. 

"Just wanted to know if any of you wanted to dance?" Lance pulled a tight smile. 

"With who?" Another guy, dressed in a long coat spits. "With you?"

Lance was already starting to regret this. "Um, yes?" He wasn't sure why he said that. 

The third guy scoffed. "Why don't you take your gay ass and go flirt with some other guys?" He looked angry and disgusted. "What? Do we look like a couple of gays to you?" 

Instead, of replying or saying anything, Lance just walked away, ashamed and embarrassed. His confidence was absolutely fucking demolished. Why did he think it was good idea?

He tried to distract himself, from the incident. His immediate first thought of comfort was Hunk. Lance suddenly remembered that Hunk had brought them drinks. Lance decided that he'd just sit in the corner and drink away. 

As he arrived at the table, he found Hunk sitting next to a gorgeous girl. She had dark curls and pretty green eyes. Lance couldn't help, but feel jealous and sad.

"Who's the pretty girl here, Hunk?" Lance pulled a smile, trying to stay in character so that Hunk wouldn't suspect anything. The incident played over and over in his head. Lance cringed at the moment, feeling sorry for himself. 

"Lance!" Hunk's face brightened up. "Lance, meet Shay! Shay, this is Lance." 

Shay giggled. "Nice to meet you Lance!" 

"The pleasure's mine." Lance took a seat next to Hunk so that Hunk was wedged in between him and Shay. 

Lance noticed the drinks on the table, but didn't now what they were. It glowed in an odd green-yellow colour. 

"Hunk," Lance looked at the drinks, confused. "What are these?"

"Uh," Hunk scratched his head. "The bartender just handed me these, saying that it was a special?" 

"Oh." Lance sank in his seat. At the moment, he didn't feel like he wanted anything. He glanced at the phone number on his wrist. Nyma. He sighed. 

Lance thought that maybe he should try calling her, to get things off his mind. "Hey, Hunk?"

"Hm?" Hunk removed himself from the conversation he and Shay were having.

"Oh, sorry." Lance stood up. "Was just going to tell you that I'm off to get drinks. Proper drinks."

Hunk chuckled. "Okay, buddy. Don't get too carried away."

And just like that, Lance headed off. He pushed through the dancing crowd. He can't possibly call anyone in this crowd. The music was too loud and people shoved too much. 

Lance took the backdoor that lead to the back of the club. The night was cold and quite, apart from the faded music in the back. It was dark. There was nothing much than a dim light that lit the area. Lance whipped out his phone and started punching in the numbers. 

The backdoor clicked open and the 3 men that Lance had tried to flirt with, emerged. Lance felt colder than he did before. 

"Told you he'd be here." The man with the long coat sneered.

Lance gulped. "What do you want?" 

"To teach your little gay ass something." The man with the leather jacket stepped forward. 

"I'm bi!" Lance was angry, but terrified at the same time. 

"Well," the third one was closing in on him. "You still like men don't you?"

"Why do you have to care who I like? I'm sorry I tried to flirt with you okay?!" Lance was shaking. 

"Well, sorry isn't good enough. You need a lesson. A real good beating that is."

 


	4. Part 3

**(WARNING: TRIGGERING HOMOPHOBIA)**

The music pounded loud and hard. Keith could feel his heart beat along. He would never admit it, but he liked it. Keith sat at a booth, waiting for Shiro to get back with the drinks. 

This was Shiro's idea as a celebration of Keith's first win of the season. Honestly, Keith just wanted to go to a local pub or something, but Shiro insisted that they go out and have some fun.

Keith winced as he brushed a finger over his bruised cheekbone. Haxus hooked him good. His knuckles were bruised and ached badly and so did every other part of him. 

While waiting, Keith decided that he'd observe the place. It was packed and full of people. People were swaying and moving the bodies to the beat. A DJ high on a podium. Lights shined in bright colours. Couples were getting wasted and making out. A group of men were suspiciously following a guy. Wait. Keith observed harder. There were a group of men, about 3 of them, following another man. As dodgy and bad as it looked, Keith really didn't want to get involved, but there was another part of him that felt like he needed to. 

"Hey." A voice snapped him back into reality. "I got us a 'special'."  Shiro sat down, facing him.

"Special?" Keith wasn't really paying attention.

"Yeah, the bartender, just handed me these saying that it was special for tonight." Shiro frowned. "Something wrong Keith?" 

"Hm?" Keith finally turned to look at Shiro. "Yeah. Everything is fine." He couldn't help but think about the 3 men. "Be right back." Keith slid out of the booth, leaving Shiro on his own.  

Keith remembered that they headed away from the crowd which means that they either went out to the back or the rest room. Keith decided that the best shot was the back. Usually dodgy stuff happens there. Keith slipped through the crowd smoothly like cat. 

Keith opened the back door to find the 3 men looming cornering another man.

"Hey!" Keith felt his stomach twist. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?" 

A man with a leather jacket turned to Keith. "This fag your friend?" He grabbed a fistful of the cornered man's shirt.

Keith made brief eye contact with him. He was scared.

Keith felt rage bubbled inside of him. He didn't really understand why. Was because of the word 'fag'. Or the fact that they were beating up someone who was gay. Or both? "No. But what are you doing?"

"Teaching him how not to flirt with guys next time. Care to join?" He snickered.

Keith couldn't help it. In one swift motion, he landed a punch on his face. The guy staggered backwards, in shock. 

"What the fuck?" He wiped off blood at the corner of his mouth. 

Before Keith could say anything, another guy wearing a long coat came swinging at him. Keith dodged smoothly and landed a kick on his groin. The man collapsed in pain. Adrenaline was rushing through Keith's blood. Everything was going too quickly. 

Another guy came swinging, but had only missed Keith by a bit. He swung again, and missed. That gave an opening to his throat, which Keith punched lightly, careful not to kill him.  The man gasped for air as he fell onto his side. 

"You fucker!" The man with the leather jacket pulled out brass knuckles. "You're dead!" He swung, sloppy. Keith grabbed his arm and twisted it. His bones crunched and he screamed, dropping the brass knuckles. 

"Not very useful, if you don't know how to fight" Keith spat. In the speed of light, Keith brought him to his knees and knocked him out with a kick. 

Suddenly, a set of arms caught Keith in a headlock from behind. 

Keith was trying to break free, all the air was leaving his body. "Not so tough are you now?" The man whispered into his ear. Keith could feel his vision turning black at the sides. He needed a way out of this quickly. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see an object that appeared to him as a shoe.  _God let it be his foot._

With all his might, Keith stomped on that object which turned out to be a foot after all. The man screamed and Keith did a headbutt to the back, breaking the man's nose. His grip on Keith weakened. Keith broke free and sent a punch flying into the man's face, knocking him out.

Keith noticed that the victim was watching. He hadn't run away. His ocean-blue eyes were wide and his mouth hung open. He had a bloody nose and a bruise across the side of cheek, but nothing else major. 

"Are you okay?" Keith huffed, adrenaline was still surging in him. 

"I- uh," He stuttered. "Yeah. Thanks."

_He's_   _pretty_. Keith thought, observing him. The man's brown tousled hair was plastered against his forehead. His gorgeous blue eyes reminded Keith of the ocean. His tanned skin made his blue eyes pop. 

"Uh..." Keith struggled to say something. "Why did they go after you?"

"Oh," the man frowned. "I-I flirted with them. And...I guess they didn't like it." He whispered, but it was loud enough for Keith to hear.

"Oh," Keith immediately regret asking him. "What's your name?"

"Lance," He smiled. 

"Lance," Keith repeated. "I'm Keith."

"Care to dance?" Keith blurted out. Internally, Keith face palmed himself.  _Way to go Hyeon_. 

Lance was shook. 

"Are you actually asking me to dance?" Lance blinked.

"Well," Keith muttered softly, but Lance could hear what he was saying. "If you want to."

"Yes." 

This time, it was Keith's turn to be in disbelief. "Wait. Really?"

"Sure, why not? I mean, we are at a club now. First, I gotta patch up."

Keith nodded. "Sure thing." 

Lance held the door open for him. "Come on, I'll meet you on the dance floor in about 5 minutes."

"See you there." Keith smiled as Lance headed off to the bathroom. 

_Holy fuck._

————————————————————————————————————————————————

Lance was shaking. He starred at himself in the mirror. He's has a blood nose and a bruise across his cheek. Despite his calm appearance in front of his rescuer, Lance was still shocked. His head was buzzing at the moment. He was filled with mixed emotions. He was shocked and sad that he had been put down for his sexuality, but at the moment, there was this really hot guy waiting outside for him. 

_Okay_. Lance thought to himself.  _Just calm down. Everything that happened has happened. For now, why not just enjoy the night. Dance it off. Drink it off. Whatever, just forget it._  Lance turned on the tap and washed his face. _Enjoy the night, Antonio._

————————————————————————————————————————————————

Keith was awkwardly standing alone.  _Is he going to come back? What if he left? What if he didn't want to dance?_   _What if...?_ Keith bit into his lower lip. He looked down, attempting to distract himself, but failed miserably.  _Why did I wear these jeans today? They're old and dirty. He looked at his shirt. God, this probably smells. And this jacket, it's so plain. Why didn't I pick out a better outfit? Why didn't I... Wait, why do I care?_  Keith flushed. _What am I doing?_

"Hey," A voice snapped Keith back into reality, before his thoughts could go any further. He lifted his head up to see Lance. He look better than he did, though the bruise appeared to be darker. 

"Hey," Keith's voice cracked. 

Lance laughed. 

Keith blushed. 

"So," Lance softly smiled. "Wanna dance?"

"Y-yes." Keith stuttered. 

Lance took Keith's hand, causing the 'tough' fighter to blush. Keith didn't know why he was acting like this. Lance led them to the centre of the dance floor. 

They dance away like no one was watching. Keith was struck by the way Lance moved. His hips swayed at the beat of the music. His body moved to the rhythm. Keith had never seen anyone dance like this before. So masculine, yet so feminine. So quick, yet so smooth. 

The pair had initiated a couple of small conversations while dancing. 

"So," Keith moved closer to Lance. "Do you dance, Lance?" Keith already knew that he was asking the obvious, but wanted to tease. 

"What do you think?" Lance shuffled closer. 

"Hmm," Keith won't lie, he did like the way Lance moved. "Judging by the way you move, I'd say this is your first time."

Lance gasped loudly. "How dare you! Keith! I'm offended!"

Keith laughed. "Calm down, Mr. Dramatic. I know you dance." 

"What about you? Is this your first time?"

"Um..."

"Ha! Who's laughing now?" 

"Shut up."

Keith's tease backfired and now he was the one, embarrassed. It was true. It was one of Keith's first time dancing in a place like this. 

"So," Lance attempted on changing the subject. "Why are you here?" 

"What?"

"Why are you here? Like, what's brings you to the club on a Tuesday night?"

"Oh. Right. I, uh... I won my first match."

"Cool. Like a soccer match?"

"No. Like UEB match."

"So you fight?"

"Yeah." 

"That explains so much! It also reminds me, I have a friend whose brother works at UEB. I bet she'd love to meet you."

"Really? What does he do?"

"Well, I'm not sure. I'll have to ask-"  _Pidge. Hunk. Allura. Oh god. What time was it? I told Hunk that I'd be back with drinks. He's probably wondering where I am._

Keith frowned. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah," Lance seemed rushed. "I have to go. I told a friend that I'd be back with some drinks about an hour ago."

That's when it hit Keith too. Shiro. He told Shiro that he'd be back too. 

"Wait, Lance." Keith called out before he could disappear into the crowd. He pulled out a sharpie from the pocket of his jeans. He grabbed Lance's wrist. It felt warm against his cold fingers. Keith noticed Nyma's number on his arm and frowned at it. He pulled off the sharpie cap with his teeth and scribbled his number onto Lance's wrist. 

Keith looked up at Lance. "Call me. Okay?"

Lance gently smiled. "Okay."

 


	5. Part 4

Keith sat up groggily. He was in his apartment. He flopped over to his side. His alarm clock read; 11.30.A.M. Keith pushed himself up and searing pain shot through his head. 

"Hey, buddy." Shiro was standing at Keith's doorway with a mug of coffee, steaming, in his hand. "How are feeling?"

"Dead," Keith groaned. 

Shiro chuckled. "You had a quite a few last night." In two long strides, Shiro took a seat next to Keith on his bed. "Here." Shiro handed him the coffee. "This will only help for a bit."

Slowly, Keith took the warm mug into his hands, absorbing the warmth. "Thanks." He managed. 

"No problem." 

————————————————————————————————————————————————

"I still can't believe they fucking did that to you!" Hunk was pacing around the room, mad.

"Are you sure you're alright Lance?" Allura brushed a finger over his cheekbone, making him flinch in pain. 

"I'm alright!" He pulled his head back, so Allura would stop touching his bruise. "Besides," Lance glanced at the number on his arm. "There was this guy who saved me."

Hunk stopped pacing. "What?"

"There was this guy," Lance said, softer this time. He was uncomfortable with many pair of ears listening at once. "He saved me. Beat up those guys with his awesome samurai-ninja skills."

Pidge couldn't help, but let a smile stretch across her face. "Saved you, huh?" She scooted closer to Lance. "What's the name?"

"Uh," Lance rubbed the back of his neck. "Keith."

"Ohhhh. Cute."

"Oh yeah," Lance perked up, ignoring Pidge's tease. "Pidge! He did mention something about winning his first UEB match or something."

"Is that what you guys talk about upon a first meeting?" Allura raised an eyebrow. 

"Wait," Pidge froze. "You said his name was Keith. Correct?"

"Um," Lance looked at Hunk, as if expecting Hunk to answer that question. "Yeah?"

"Keith as in K-E-I-T-H?"

"I don't know? About a little bit shorter than me? Uh... Dark hair that sort of looks like a mullet. Dark eyes. Pretty?"

"Holy f-." Pidge pulled out her phone and began smashing buttons. "Did he look like this?" It was a picture of Keith. The one Lance had danced with last night. Except, in the picture, he looked more angry and was drenched in blood. 

"Yeah." Lance nodded. 

"HoLy FUCK!" Pidge jumped. "HOLYYY FUUUCKKK!" Their voice cracked. "YOu MeT KeiTh HyeON!!!" 

Allura clung onto Lance as if they were watching a horror movie. Hunk backed away into a corner. 

Pidge pterodactyl screamed. "HOLY FUCK YOU MET KEITH HYEON! YOU DANCED WITH KEITH MOTHERFUCKING HYEON! KEITH FUCKING HYEON SAVED YOU!"

Lance gulped. "Yes, I did?"

"Holy fuck Lance!" She leaned into Lance's face. "I need to meet him! Please?! Call him? Pleeeaasseee?!" 

Lance scratched the back of his head. "I don't know Pidge." 

"Well," they straightened their glasses. "I know for an a obvious fact that there's a number on your arm for a reason."

Lance covered his arm. "Why should I call him?"

Pidge rolled their eyes. "Cause he gave you his number."

"What should I say?" Lance looked up with worried eyes.

"Ask him if he wants to go out for tea or something."

"Why should I do this?"

"Pleeeeaaassse Lance. PLEASE! I NEED THIS!" 

Lance sighed. "Okay. But on one condition...."

————————————————————————————————————————————————

Keith stepped out of the steaming shower. His head was clear and hurt less. Memories of last night came rushing back as he was in the shower. Keith remembered everything. The fight. Those guys. Lance.

Keith laid on his back on his bed, towel wrapped around his waist. He stared at the ceiling. 

"Lance," Keith whispered to himself. The name felt so right against his lips. Will I see him again?

Before, Keith's thoughts could eat him up, his phone rang. Keith jumped, startled. He picked up the phone. It was just a number. 

"Hello?" Keith answered, his voice was dry.

"Hey," A familiar voice answers. "It's Lance."

"Lance?" Keith stood up, wrapping both hands around the phone. He felt a smile stretched across his face.

"Yeah. From last night remember?" 

"Yeah. I remember."

"I was thinking..." There was a pause. Keith couldn't hear anything, but his heart.

"Lance?"

"Oh right. Sorry. Um.." Lance sounded unsure. "Would you like to go out for lunch, later?"

Keith smiled to himself. "Yes Lance. I'd love to."

He heard a chuckle from the other side of the phone. "How 'bout half past two? At the Balmeran cafe?"

Keith took a quick glance at his alarm clock; 1.15.P.M. 

"Yeah," Keith looked in his wardrobe. "Sounds good. "

"Yeah. See you there!"

"Bye."

He hung up. 

"SHIRO!" Keith stormed into the living area, his hair still damp. "I HAVE A DATE!"

————————————————————————————————————————————————

This wasn't the type of 'date' Keith had in mind. He sat at a booth. Across him, was Lance. Keith thought he looked cute. He wore a black jumper and simple grey tracksuits. Written across his jumper was; 'Dance like no one is watching'. His bruise was still there. His brown hair was messy. Blue eyes, still sparkled.

Beside Lance, was a 'fangirling' Pidge. Pidge wore a green t-shirt which had the words; 'Lance is the best person in the whole world' written in cursive writing across. 

"What is it like to be trained by the one and only Arai Shirogane?" Pidge leaned foward, snapping Keith back into reality. 

"Uh," Keith looked into Pidge's hazel eyes. They were huge. "It's great. I guess."

"That's so cool! Did it hurt when you got hooked by Haxus?" 

"Yeah. It hurt a lot." 

"How does it feel to win your first match of the season?"

"It feels great."

"Do you want to hear about the time where I got-"

"Strawberry shortcake?" A waitress interrupted Pidge. Thank God. Keith didn't know how much longer he could take those questions.

"Thanks." Keith murmured as the waitress placed the cake onto the table. 

"Anyways," Pidge continued. "Would you like to hear about the time I-"

Pidge's voice drowned into the background as they continued to ramble on. Keith slouched down into his seat, not sure if he could listen to another story. 

"Hey Pidge," Lance's angel voice cut through. "Matt texted."

Pidge looked at him, confused. "No he didn't." 

"Yes, he did."

"Well, what did he say?"

"He's looking for you. He says to meet him and Hunk at the mall."

"Liar."

"No, I'm serious!"

"But I'm talking to Keith Hyeon!"

"Not my problem."

Pidge huffed. "Fine." They grabbed their stuff and slid out of the booth. "It was nice meeting you, Keith! See ya, Lance." 

Keith pouted in annoyance, refusing to look up at Lance. "Why did you do that?" He was annoyed.

"Do what?" 

"Invited a fangirl, without telling me." Keith finally looked up through his bangs. 

"Sorry," Lance rubbed the back of his neck. "I mean, it's not like it's a date anyways."

Keith felt a painful pang in his chest. "Then what is it?" Keith spat through gritted teeth. It came out harsher than intended. 

"I mean, we barely know each other." Lance pulled a tight smile. "Can't we just call it a 'meet up'?"

It was true. They barely knew each other. They had only met at a club the night before. To be honest, Keith didn't know what he expected. They were only strangers. It's not like he could fall for a stranger that quick anyways.

"Yeah," Keith sat up straighter. "Okay. Any other plans?" Keith attempted to change the subject. 

"Well," Lance fiddled with the sugar packets. "Not really. I mean, unless, there's something you wanna do?"

Keith sliced the cake and put it into his mouth. He shrugged. 

"Okay." Lance didn't really know what to say. "I guess we'll chill here then. Until, one of us figures out something."

There was a moment of awkward silence between the two. It was awkward. Keith didn't know what to say or how to initiate a conversation. Lance wasn't any better. 

"So," Keith broke the silence after a few minutes. "How's the bruise?"  _Really Hyeon? Is that the best, you can do?_

"It's better." Lance brushed a finger over it. "Much better. Thank you."

Keith was startled. "For what?"

Lance smiled a soft smile. "For saving me."

Keith felt his heart do a little squeeze. "You're welcome."

 


	6. Part 5

The Cuban man was laughing so hard, he was falling off the seat. 

"Wait," Lance held his side that hurt from laughter. "You PUNCHED a kid once, because he stole your celery stick?" Lance burst out laughing, again.

"It was a good celery stick!" Keith was laughing himself. 

It had started out in awkward silence, but in the end, both men had each other laughing. They were exchanging awkward childhood stories. 

"At least I didn't - didn't smack a woman's butt - cause I thought it was a cushion!" Keith said in between laughters.

"Hey!" Lance was wheezing. "In my defence, it was dark!"

"Okay-okay," Keith put out a hand so that Lance wouldn't make him laugh anymore. "We need to go somewhere else. I think we're chasing away costumers."

"I actually might have a place." said Lance wiping away a tear. 

—————————————————————————————————————————————————

The carnival was busy. It wasn't packed with people, but you'd have to push through a crowd. Screams and shouts could be heard from miles away. Colour filled every corner. Laughter and smiles spread across the crowd. 

"Isn't this great?" Lance beamed. 

Keith looked around awkwardly, unsure of what to do. "Um, yeah? I guess..." Keith had never really been to a carnival before. Most of the time, he'd stay in his room, leaving his foster parents to attend to their own business. He had seen what a carnival looked like on the television and he had his own idea of what it'd be. So far, nothing is exactly as it seems. 

"This is nothing compared to the one Hunk and I went to last year." Lance sounded proud. 

"Who's Hunk?" Keith didn't know why, but he felt the urge to ask.  He had remembered Lance mentioning Hunk to Pidge before.

"Hm?" Lance was barely paying attention. "Hunk? Oh, He's my best friend."

"Best friend?" Keith suddenly felt stupid for such a question. 

"Yeah," Lance looked at him weird. "Best friend." He repeated in careful tone. "You know, someone who you can talk stuff with. Hang out-"

"Yeah, I know what a 'best friend' is, you dumbass." Keith crossed his arms.  _I just don't have one._

"Okay, okay, Mr. Grumpy Pants." Lance threw his hands into the air. 

Keith felt awkward. Honestly, he just wanted to go home, or to train with Shiro. How did he end up in a carnival?

"You know what I want?" Lance smirked over his shoulder. 

Keith felt his heart perform a summersault. "Uh," He raised an eyebrow. "No?"

"Guess."

"No."

"Guess Keith!"

"No. Just tell me. It'll be faster if you do."

"No! C'mon, Keith! Guess!"

"NO!"

"You're no fun Keith Hyeon!"

Keith simply rolled his eyes.  _Keith Hyeon, huh? I never told him my full name._

"I want candy floss." Lance eyed an oversized rainbow cloud in a kid's hand. "I want one."

"Well," Keith pushed his hair back. The heat was making his shirt stick to him like tape. Hair was plastered onto his forehead and the sides of his head. "Get one then." 

"Do you want one?"

"What?"

Lance placed his hands on his hips and let out an exasperated sigh.  "You want one or not?" 

"Uh..."

"We can share one."

"We can?"

"Of course." 

"Okay."

"So, we're sharing?"

"Yeah, I guess."

Lance grabbed Keith's hand and pulled him towards the stall. Lance's hand was smooth and soft against Keith's rough and dry hand. Lance's fingers were long, though his nails were chewed. Keith had shorter fingers, but had a slightly larger palm. 

When they arrived at the stall, Lance released his grip on Keith. Keith wiped is clammy palm on his pants. 

"A candy floss ,please." Lance leaned over like a child.

"2 dollars." The woman behind the counter fondly smiled. 

Lance fished his pocket for money. "Here."

"Enjoy." The woman hands him a multi-coloured sugar-cloud on a stick.

"Thanks." Lance's eyes glittered. He took a bite into the candy floss. Bits of sugar stuck onto his cheek. He looked like a child. 

"Want some?" Lance licked his sugar-coated lips. 

"Are you asking me?" Keith knew the obvious answer, but just wanted to annoy him.

"KEITH!" Lance threw his head back. "Are you thi-"

Keith burst out laughing. "Calm down. I'm just teasing."

"Well," Lance crossed his arms. "It was stupid. It made you look stupid."

"You're stupid."

"Rude."

Keith stuck his tongue out. 

—————————————————————————————————————————————————

"Come on Keith!" Lance was pulling his own hair. "You can't miss! This is the easiest thing ever!"

"Shut up! It would be much easier without you yelling at my side!" Keith squeezed the trigger and missed the target again. 

Keith let out a groan of frustration and slammed the gun onto the counter. "Again!"

"Keith, Keith, Keith, buddy." Lance walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.  "You have to let the professionals help."

Keith scoffed. "You? You're joking."

"One game please." Lance slid $5 to the person behind the counter who then later returned with a modified gun designed for the game.

"You want the hippo, correct?" Lance was observing the gun. 

Keith turned his head so that Lance couldn't see his blush. A giant hippo plush toy hang on the ceiling. Keith had his eye on it for awhile. "Yes."

"And to do that, you must hit all five of the target?"

"Yes."

Lance exhales and takes his aim. "Alright." He grins. "Watch the master at work."

Lance fired away, hitting one of the target.

"Beginners' luck." Keith snorted.

Lance took aim and fired again, hitting the second target. He fired again, hitting the third target.Keith was quiet. 

Lance's grin was wide. "You watching, buddy?" He fired again, not missing. 4/5."One more. One more and that hippo is yours."

Lance squeezed the trigger once more, knocking over the fifth target. 

The person behind the counter rang a bell, indicating that Lance had full scores. He handed the giant hippo over to Lance who gave it a tight squeeze before passing it over to a flustered Keith. 

"Uh," Keith hid his face in the hippo. "Thanks." He mumbled. 

"They don't call me 'sharpshooter' for nothing." Lance blew the 'smoke' from his finger guns. 

Keith didn't know why, but he felt warm and happy. "Sharpshooter, huh?"

Lance frowned. "Yeah. Why?"

"Nothing," Keith gave the hippo a squeeze. "I like it."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be more of a plot twist coming up. Bear with me please ;)


	7. Part 6

"Come on Keith!" Shiro paced forward steadily and carefully.

With a groan of annoyance, Keith swung his leg forward attempting to land a kick on Shiro, who swiftly dodged it. Shiro then grabbed his leg and pulled him down. Keith landed on his back with a loud thud causing him to let a string of curse words slip out of his mouth.

"You can't let your anger get the best of you." Shiro held out a hand for Keith who gladly took it. 

"I'm not angry Shiro." The younger fighter bit back, but annoyance lingered in his voice.

Shiro snorted. "Sure you're not." 

"I'm not!" Keith threw his hands into the air. "I'm not!"

Shiro placed the gears down. "So, how was you're date?" He attempted on changing the subject. 

Keith sighed. "I'm not sure if you could call it a 'date'."

"What's his name?" Concerned, Shiro went over to Keith, who was resting on one of the benches. 

"Lance." Keith replied, without looking up.

"Lance?" There was a spark of interest in his voice. "That's it. Just Lance? You don't even know his full name?"

Keith groaned in annoyance. Thought it was true, he didn't know his full name, though he knew Keith's. But he couldn't blame him. He was a professional UEB fighter. Pidge was there too so...

"He, uh," Keith was trying to describe him. "He's a little taller than me. Tan skin. Messy brown hair. Blue eyes." Keith felt stupid. That 'Lance' he was describing could literally be anyone. 

"Oh," Shiro scrolled through his phone and handed it to Keith. "You mean him?" 

There it was. Lance. It was a photo of him, Pidge and an older Pidge? Probably their sibling. 

"Where did you get this?" Keith stared at the picture. His voice, barely a whisper. 

"I have a friend who works at the arena. Name's Matt. He's friends with Lance." Shiro shrugged. "I don't anything about him though."

Keith assumed that Matt was the 'older' Pidge. Keith handed the phone back. "You know his full name?" Keith felt stupid for asking such a question. Of course he doesn't.

"Uh," Shiro scratched the back of his neck. "I think it's Lance San Antonio or something."

Keith's jaw dropped. "You know anything else about him?" 

Shiro chuckled. "I would tell you if I knew anything more about him, Keith. But sadly, I only know that he's 21. Nothing more"

Keith let his head drop. _21, huh?_

"You'll be alright Keith." The retired UEB fighter placed an arm on his shoulder. "Now what do you say we go do a few more practice rounds before the match?"

—————————————————————————————————————————————————

"What's this?" Lance waved the paper slips in the air.

"Those are tickets you idiot." Pidge snatched them back. 

"For what?" Lance folded his arms like a child. 

Pidge ignored him.

"Answers Pidge." Allura demanded. 

Pidge let out a sigh. "Can't any of you read? It's for the UEB match later this afternoon!"

"That thing!?" Lance shrieked. "There is no way I'm watching people beat each other up!" 

"Who's against who?" Hunk asked. 

"Keith against Rolo." Pidge replied, smirking in Lance's direction. 

 _Keith_. Lance's heart felt a pang for some reason. "K-Keith?" He stuttered. 

"Yeah," Pidge raised their eyebrows. "Your boyfriend." 

"He's not my boyfriend Pidge!" Lance could feel his cheeks flush.

"Oh yeah? Then what about the date?" 

"What date?"

"You know, the one I crashed?"

It took Lance a tick to process what Pidge had said. 

"Oh that one." The Cuban frowned. "It wasn't a date Pidge. It was more of a 'meet up'."

"Oh," They simply shrugged. "Whatever you say."

That gave Lance a moment to think. _Was it a date? I barely knew that guy. He was kinda cute though. He saved me._ He gripped the side of his sleeves. That was when he realised he was holding in a breath. _Do I like him? Does HE like ME? Is he even GAY? But I-_

"Come on!" Pidge's voice cut through Lance's thoughts. 

"To where?" Lance wasn't paying attention.

"To the match dumbass."

—————————————————————————————————————————————————

The crowd ahead roars mightily, but all Keith could hear was the blood rushing in his ears. He tightened his fists to stop them from shaking. He could feel his heart banging against his rib cage. He fear that if it kept beating like that, it would soon burst through his chest. 

Shiro had also informed him earlier on that there will be more people around to watch the match. This made Keith's stomach churn. 

With his intro being announced, Keith knew that it was time. He popped his mouthguard in and headed for the opening. Bright light pierced into his eyes, almost blinding him. Keith blinked a few times, before his eyes adjusted to the light. Shiro was right. There were thousands of people. They were watching him. Keith raised his arms up in the air. 

'KEITH HYEON AKA THE RED PALADIN OF VOLTRON!' 

Keith continues to scan the crowd for familiar faces as he stepped into the ring. There were people holding up banners with his name written on it. Some with Rolo's. Some had face paint on. Some were waving around flags. There were even people who wore merchandise. And suddenly...  _Lance_?

He was sitting in the far left of the arena. Next to him was Pidge and two other he didn't recognise. A tall, rounded tan man with dark hair. Hunk? Wedged in between Lance and Hunk was a woman with coffee coloured skin that makes her silver hair glow.

'AND HIS OPPONENT,' the announcer continued. 'ROLO JACKSON AKA THE SCOUT OF THE REBEL EMPIRE.'

From the other corner, emerged a man. He was half a head taller than Keith and his build was different too. Thinner than Keith. He had white-silver hair similar to the woman seated with Lance. He smirked, his mouth stuffed for his mouthguard was in the way. 

The umpire explained the same rules from his previous match. In agreement to the rules, Rolo nodded, not taking his eyes off Keith. 

Keith's heart was still hammering against his rib cage. His bandaged hands were already curled into a fist. What's worse was that Lance was here this time. 

Lance was watching.

"Keith?" the umpire called, concern was shown in his eyes. "I need a nod from you." 

With his jaw set and eyes narrowed, he nodded.

 

 


	8. Part 7

Lance’s mind was racing with possible outcomes of what could happen to Keith. He was anxious. He was so new to this, he wasn’t even sure which corner Keith would appear from. The crowd was going wild. Pidge was chanting along with them. Earlier, on their way, Pidge had mentioned that Keith was only 22. Lance hadn’t said a word since. A new form of respect for Keith had blossomed.

 _Keith._ The name ate away at Lance’s mind. _What’s gonna happen? Is he going to be okay?_ Lance nibbled at his imperfect nails. It was a bad habit he picked up from his older sister. _Keith is a professional, right?_ He knew the questions that ran through his mind were stupid, but he couldn’t stop them. _He’s a professional San Antonio._ He reminded himself. _Keith saved you from 3 men. He’s got this._

A man dressed in proper attire stepped into the ring. Lance assumed he was the announcer. 

‘ARE YOU READY _!?’_ His voiced boomed from the microphone. 

“FUCK YEAH!” Pidge literally jumped from their seat, causing Lance to flinch. 

‘TONIGHT _,’_ the announcer went on. The crowd died down, as they were eager to hear the intros. ‘WE HAVE TWO VERY SKILLED, STRONG AND MIGHT I ADD, EXTREMELY DANGEROUS FIGHTERS. BOTH FROM VERY DIFFERENT REGIONS. ONE OF THEM, IS EXTREMELY YOUNG TO BE FIGHTING. HE HAS SPEED AND AN UNBELIEVABLE NUMBER OF WINS IN HIS PREVIOUS SEASONS. HE IS ALSO COACHED BY THE ONE AND ONLY ARAI SHIROGANE AKA ‘THE CHAMPION _.’_

The crowd lost it (including Pidge). Fans screamed and roared as the arena dimmed and the big screen lit up. A montage of Shiro played. Lance instantly recognised him as one of the greats Pidge had always talked about. ‘The Champion’. 

His body was well defined with muscles that showed. He had a tuff of white hair on the front and a long scar across the bridge of his nose. Lance gulped. _So_ t _his is the guy who’s coaching Keith?_

When the montage ended and lights went back on, the crowd slowly died.

‘THE OTHER ONE, HAS BEEN FIGHTING FOR FOUR YEARS NOW. EXPERIENCE IS CLEARLY SHOWING. HE’S NOT ONLY A PROFESSIONAL UEB FIGHTER, BUT ALSO AN ACTOR. HE’S HANDSOME, SMART AND SKILLED. _’_

The whole crowd screamed. Except Pidge who was clapping this time. 

‘AND WITHOUT FUTHER ADO _,’_ the announcer’s voice boomed louder. Lance was starting to wonder if the announcer was even human. ‘LET US BRING OUT THE FIGHTERS. _’_

Lance’s heart was overworking. ‘LET US WELCOME : KEITH HYEON AKA THE RED PALADIN OF VOLTRON! _’_

Pidge went ballistic. In fact, the crowd went ballistic

There he was. Keith. He was on the big screen too. His hair was tied up into a bun. He was wearing red shorts, the upper half of his body was bare. Lance could see his well toned abs and muscles. _Shit._ He could feel his face heat up. Keith turned his head to each corner as if he were observing the crowd. And there was a moment that Lance could’ve sworn, their eyes locked. It wasn’t even a second. Lance didn’t know why, but his heart was beating so hard. He had to take deep breathes to prevent himself from hyperventilating.

‘AND HIS OPPONENT _,’_ the announcer turned to the other corner. ‘ROLO JACKSON AKA THE SCOUT OF THE REBEL EMPIRE! _’_

 Lance’s stomach dropped at the sight of him. Rolo was tall, but thinner than Keith. There were scars on his back and face. Scars that made Lance sick at the sight of them. He had white-silver hair similar to Allura’s. 

The stood face to face as the umpire explained rules. Lance was at the edge of his seat. And before he knew it, the bell went off.  

—————————————————————————————————————————————————

 Keith immediately had his guard up as he knew that Rolo would attack first. He was right. Rolo came swinging, but had hit Keith’s forearms instead. At this, Keith backed away, searing pain shot up his arms. _That’s gonna leave a bruise._ Keith quickly went into a defensive stance as Rolo went at him again with a kick this time. Unfortunately, Keith wasn’t fast enough. The kick landed on his mid thigh. This caused Keith to stumble to the side, losing his balance. Rolo took this to his advantage and punched him in the jaw. 

Keith stumbled to the side. Pain spread through the lower half of his face. His vision blurred for a second. Though the crowd was loud, Keith couldn’t hear anything besides his harsh breathing and blood rushing in his ears. _Pull yourself together Hyeon!_

 Rolo came with a kick again, but this time, Keith had managed to deflect it. Next, Rolo came with a punch that Keith dodged. Keith had decided that he was tired of playing defence. Keith did a full mid-air turn and landed a kick on Rolo’s side. Keith took him from under causing Rolo to fall onto his back, knocking the wind out of him. He was so fast that the taller man barely had time to regain his balance from the kick. 

 Keith kneeled onto his torso, attempting to pin him down in place, but Rolo still had strength in him. Before Keith could land a punch on him, Rolo threw him off to the side. Keith bit down on his mouth guard and pulled himself up. The two got into a guarding stance, not breaking eye contact. Sweat dotted Keith’s nose and forehead. He had the urge to wipe it away, but he knew he mustn’t let his guard down.

 It was then Keith decided that he should make his move. He decided to go for a kick on his opponent’s rib cage. However, Rolo saw that coming. He grabbed a hold of the younger fighter’s leg and swung him to the side. The lad lost his footing and crumbled to the ground. As he tried to get up, the older fighter punched him, pushing him back down. 

 Keith wasn’t going to let his face get punched again so he help up his arms in defence. Rolo on the other hand, wasn’t going for his face. This time, he was going for his legs, which Keith left unprotected. Rookie mistake.

 With most of his might, Rolo stomped onto his foot. Keith cried out, realising his stupid mistake. Quickly, he pulled his legs up towards him before Rolo could do anything else. Rolo went at Keith with another punch, but this time Keith was faster. He rolled onto his side and pushed himself up. Adrenaline was rushing through him like an electricity current. 

 Keith attempted to tackle Rolo onto the ground, but the taller man had managed to stand his ground. Instead, he kneed the younger fighter in the stomach. Keith gagged against his mouth guard, saliva dripping at the corners of his mouth. He could feel something rising at the back of his throat. 

 Keith was tossed aside again, for what felt to be like the 100th time. He spat out his mouthguard and threw up onto the side of the ring. His heart was beating rapidly and for the first time in ages, Keith felt scared. He hadn’t felt this long for the first time in ages. Not since his first match.  

 _Calm down Hyeon. You need to calm the fuck down._ Rolo’s footsteps were growing louder. He was nearing . _Calm down. Remember your training._ Keith couldn’t concentrate. All he could hear was his lively heart. _Fuck._ He starred at the ground, looking away from his ‘lunch’. _fuckfuckfuck_. He swallowed as the saliva burned his raw throat. The taste of bile lingered. 

“GET YOUR FUCKING ASS UP HYEON!” A voice boomed. It spoke over the noise of the crowd. Keith instantly recognised that voice. 

_Lance?_

 

 


	9. Part 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I found out that Lance's last name is a city. ;). I didn't know....Whoops. I apologise for the lack of simple knowledge. But anyways, please enjoy this chapter. The plot has finally arrived.

Keith peered through his bangs. His eyes immediately set on him. _Lance._ He was standing on his seat. He cupped his mouth with his hands in an attempt to emphasise the volume his voice.

“KEITH I SWEAR TO GOD!” He was shouting so loud that people around him, scrunched their faces. Allura was tugging at his pants, begging for him to stop. ‘THIS IS FUCKING PATHETIC! IS THIS YOUR BEST?”

Keith’s eye widened in horror. _Lance?_

“FUCK’S SAKES KEITH!” Lance continued. “YOU CALL THIS A FUCKING FIGHT, HYEON!?”

This earned gasps and mutters from the crowd. Security was already coming over to escort Lance out.

Keith gritted his teeth. _Why the fuck was Lance saying this?_

“YOU CAN’T EVEN FIGHT! YOU’RE PATHETIC! YOU’RE PIECE OF SHIT COMPARED TO ROLO! HE’S SO MUCH QUICKER AND SO MUCH BETTER THAN YOU!” He spat, brows furrowed with annoyance.

 _Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!_ Keith squeezed his eyes shut, hoping that those insults would fade away. 

“YOU’RE NOTHING COMPARED TO SHIRO!” 

 _SHUT UP!_ Keith curled up his fists, nails digging into his palms, drawing blood. 

Security was grabbing at Lance by his arms, practically dragging him out of his seat. “AND YOU KNOW WHAT!?” Lance decided to pull out the last straw. “YOU’RE NOTHING TO ME KEITH!”

It was then something in Keith snapped. 

“SHUT UP!” His eyes snapped open. Lance was already gone. 

Someone chuckled above Keith. It was then he had remembered about Rolo who was currently looming over him. 

“Y’know Keith,” He said his name with disgust. His voice was taunting, poisonous. “I agree with that guy. You are nothing compared to me.”

This caused Keith to go blind with rage. In one swift motion, he took Rolo down. This time though, he wasn’t going to let him go. Keith pinned him to the ground. Before Rolo could even blink, Keith was already landing punches on him. They were strong and heavy punches. Each one, summoned blood. His fists were soaked, but he kept going. 

He could hear people in the background shouting. He could hear the bell in the background signalling a break, but his rage got the better of him. It came to a point where two security guards had to peel him away from Rolo’s half-dead body. 

Keith was struggling against them, trying to break free. Paramedics rushed to the scene. 

 _Lance did this_. Keith screamed. It wasn’t out of pain or sadness. It was just pure anger. _Lance San Antonio fucking did this._

—————————————————————————————————————————————————

Lance was sitting in front of Allura’s red Toyota.His knees were close to his chest, his arms were crossed on them and his head was down. _What the fuck have I done?_

At that moment he wasn’t thinking. His legs instantly brought him up. At first, it came out as a cheer, but it soon evolved into fear. Lance was just scared for Keith. No, not scared. He was terrified. He couldn't bear to watch him get busted by Rolo. He knew he had to do something. So he spoke his mind. Though it wasn’t actually his mind. It was something else. He thought that if he could trigger Keith into becoming angry, he could use the anger to stand against Rolo. 

Instead, everything had resulted into this. Lance did not expect to be dragged out. He last thing he saw were Keith’s dark eyes. They were burning with hatred. But even then, they were beautiful. 

“Fuck.” The Cuban swore under his breath. His heart was beating quick, quicker than the time he stood on the chair and allowed let hell lose. Right now, he was scared. Not for Keith, because he knew Keith’d be alright. This time, he was scared for himself. He knew that the others would be mad at him for suddenly going off like that, but Lance couldn’t help it. There was something in him. 

Those dark eyes filled with hatred flashed in his mind. 

“Keith,” Lance breathed. His chest hurt. He ruined everything. What would Keith say about him? Would Keith even want an explanation? Anxiety began eating away at  the worried man. They were bonding so well. Why the fuck did he have to ruin everything? _Whywhywhy_

Lance could feel tears stinging the back of his eyes. An uncomfortable lump formed in his throat. _No._ Lance used a sleeve to wipe away the tears that were bound to spill. _I will not cry._ He swallowed against the lump. _I don’t have to cry. I don’t_ ** _want_** _to cry._

Lance really wanted comfort. The first thought of comfort that popped into his mind was his mother. _Mamá._ Instead of making him feel better, the thought brought the man to tears. He missed his mother. Hell, he missed his family. 

They lived in Cuba. Lance came over with his two older siblings for studies; Sophia, who was 19 at the time and Andrew, who was the oldest at 21. Lance migrated to the US when he was just 15. It was difficult. Their mother said that it was best if he went with Sophia and Andrew. He had 5 other siblings back at Cuba. He missed every single one of them to bits.

“Hey,” A sweet, honey-coated voice called from above. 

Lance looked up. He didn’t care to wipe away fallen tears. It was Nyma. Her light hair framed her face nicely making her look beautiful. Her violet eyes shone brightly under the moonlight. She was wearing a silver dress that fitted perfectly, a ring and a set of earrings that dangled. She smiled at him, brows furrowed with concern.

“You okay?” She held out a hand. 

“Yeah,” Lance sniffed, though he wasn’t really ‘alright’. He took her hand and stood up, wiping the fallen tears, impatiently. 

“You sure?” Concerned laced her voice.

Lance nodded. God, he hate crying in front of people.“What’s with the dress?” He attempted to switch the subject, fearing that she would ask more questions.

“Oh,” She sounded as if she wasn’t expecting that question. “Just got back from a date.” She shrugged like it was nothing. 

Lance looked around and frowned in confusion. “I don’t see any restaurants here.” 

She laughed. Her laugh was sweet and it tickled at Lance’s heart. It made him feel warm, happy and… guilty?

“Oh no.” She smiled. “I told him to drop me off here. My brother, Rolo, is fighting tonight.” She jerked her head towards the arena. “Thought I might go watch him.”

Lance’s jaw dropped. “You’re the sister of Rolo Jackson?” He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“Yeah,” she frowned. “That’s mainly one of the reasons why guys would wanna date me though.”

“What do you mean?” Lance cocked his head to the side like a curious puppy. 

She shrugged. “Sometimes,I feel like, people would only wanna date me just cause my brother is a celebrity.”

“Well, I think you’re beautiful and great just the way you are.” Lance flirted. He wasn’t sure why he said that. 

“Thank you.”Nyma blushed, before mumbling, “You never called.”

 _I was busy bonding with a specific someone who appears to be fighting your brother tonight._ Lance rubbed the back of his neck as he thought of an excuse. “I was busy babysitting.” He lied. It was the best excuse he could come up within 7 seconds.

“Babysitting?” Nyma raised her eyebrows. 

“Yeah,” He nodded, thinking about his siblings back in Cuba. “I was babysitting my younger siblings.”

“Wow. Must be a handful.” She shook her head.

Lance smiled. He felt his stomach rumble. “What do you say we get out of here? Go someplace to eat?”

Nyma giggled. “Sure thing.”

—————————————————————————————————————————————————

Her eyes were twinkling just as bright as the stars. He smile was gorgeous, rows of perfect white teeth. Her luscious, soft hair fell around her face as she was laughing. Lance fought the temptation to tuck it behind her ear. 

“How’s the food coming along?” Nyma jerked her chin towards Lance’s half-eaten pizza. Lance had decided to order some pizza. The other foods didn't sound as appetising. Either way, Lance wasn’t that hungry. 

He simply shrugged. “It’s alright. I’ve had better. How’s your drink?”

Nyma raised her eyebrows as she stirred her drink. “It’s pretty good.” She took another sip. “Want some?”

Lance shook his head. He didn’t know why,  but he was feeling pretty beat. No. He knew why. It was because of Keith. Once again, the memory of the raven haired boy swept across his mind. Lance felt his heart drop. All appetite was lost. 

“Hey are you okay?” Nyma places a hand on top of his. A concerned look plastered on her face. 

“Um, yeah,” He smiled. “I’m okay.” No he wasn’t. He felt sick. He needed a distraction… _Nyma_. 

Guilt was rising in his chest, constricting it. He knew it was wrong, but really he  _needed_ a distraction. He needed to take his mind off what he did the tonight. To take his mind of the furious fighter.

“Nyma,” he grabbed her hand, causing her to jump. “Let’s get out of here. Go somewhere where we can be alone.” 

“Oh,” Nyma’s face was red. “I don’t know Lance. We-”

“Please.” Lance was desperate. His was tracing circles over the back of her hand. “I need you.” 

Nyma smiled and nodded. Her voice was soft and reassuring. “Okay Lance.”

Together hand in hand, they took off to Nyma’s apartment. The night was going to be long.

 


	10. Part 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fgcxvghilkj,mbnvc xdtfty 500+ reads!?!?! AHHH thank you!! Who even reads this??? Thank you so much! It means a lot. I've been kinda busy lately and I'm really sorry for my bad writing. But overall thank youuuu Them comments make me happy :) and kudos too! Much love you guys! Anyways please enjoy <3

Keith was laying on his back, facing towards the ceiling. His chest heaved up and down as he breathed slowly and calmly. He was so fucking tired. He allowed his eyes to flutter shut. Memories of last night came flooding back into his head like nightmares.

Rolo was barely breathing by the time security pulled him away. He trashed against them, kicking and screaming. God, was he angry as fuck. Security was pinning him down on the floor. He whined as he threw his head back. It was then when his senses finally came back to him. His face was hot and his eyes were red and puffy. _Am I crying?_ His knuckles were sore and torn apart, blood was oozing out of them. He could feel his body ache all over. He screamed again this time, he was screaming for Shiro.

Keith's eyes snapped open in horror. Sunlight pierced through the window, onto his face. He brought his knuckles up, examining it. They have been bandaged and cleaned, but they still stung whenever he moved his hands. With a heavy sigh, he dropped them by his sides.

More memories came.

 _Lance_.

Keith could feel hatred boil in him. He tightened his fists. It ached and stung. He probably ripped the wounds back open again, but he didn't care. Why did Lance say what he said? Did he mean it? Keith gritted his teeth so hard that his jaw started to ache. Tears were starting to sting at the back of his eyes. Why? Why the fuck does he care anyway?

_Whywhywhywhywhy_

Keith grabbed his pillow and hurled it across the room. It knocked his book shelf, causing objects to clatter to the ground. He pulled his sheets over himself, knowing that Shiro would come into the room. He couldn't see him like this. No one can.

"Keith?" The door creaked open. "I know your awake buddy."

"Go away Shiro." Keith spat between his gritted teeth.

"You need to get up." Shiro dragged himself across the room to Keith's bed.

Keith felt the weight of his mattress dip. He could feel Shiro's arm on his back, soothing him. Keith let a fat tear fall.

"I am awake." He finally managed. His voice was shaky. His throat was still dry and ached. He had screamed so much that night, that he swore his vocal chords would be shredded by the time the night was over.

"Wanna talk about it?" Shiro's voice was soothing and gentle. Keith had never heard him speak like this before. Not since...

"No. I-" Keith closed his eyes and allowed himself to breathe. He concentrated on his heart beat. It was fast. "I just want to be alone."

He felt his bed shift again.

"Keith," he heard Shiro say from across the room. "I'm here for you."

"I know." Keith muttered just as Shiro shut the door. "I know."

—————————————————————————————————————————————————

Lance's eyes fluttered open. The first thing that his eyes laid up was the sleeping figure of a woman. Her golden hair hung lose and was sprawled across the pillow. Nyma? Lance continued to scan her and... _she's naked_. That was when it hit Lance, hard.

They fucked.

Lance recalled what they had done the night before. He remembered the feeling of her soft, smooth skin against his. He remembered her soft smile. He remembered her luscious lips moving along with his. He remembered his fingers, entangled in her hair. He remembered... _Keith_.

Lance shot right up, his breathing disoriented. What had he done?

He remembered yelling at Keith. He remembered those dark eyes, staring right back him with burning hatred. He remembered being dragged out by security. He remembered crying in the parking lot. He remembered the cold air.

He remembered everything.

Lance tugged at the roots of his hair in frustration. Guilt and worry was rising in his chest. This was so fucked up.

He grabbed his boxers and jeans and began to slip them on. Nyma stirred awake.

"Lance?" Her voice was still like golden honey. Violet orbs were focused on him. "Where are you going?"

"I-uh," Lance was struggling with his belt. His hands were trembling. "I've-" The man couldn't bring himself to tell her the truth. No. He needed her to know the truth. She deserved to know.

"Nyma," He whipped around to look at her with sad apologetic eyes, hoping that it would change something. The sheets covered her lower half leaving her bare from waist up. She still looked beautiful."I'm sorry. I-I've made a mistake."

She choked out a short-breathed laugh, but it was sad and it was glazed with worry. "What do you mean Lance?"

"I mean." Lance's voice was more stern and cold now. "I can't see you anymore Nyma."

She frowned and pulled herself up. "But Lance, you told me you needed me last night."

"But it didn't mean anything." His voice was like venom, but he had no intention for it to come out like that.

"Lance," Tears were forming in her eyes. "Please tell me you're joking."

There was uncomfortable silence.

She tried again."Lance, you said-"

"I know what I said!" Lance snapped causing Nyma to flinch. Frustration was getting the better of him. If only he knew how to undo this mistake.

Lance sighed and pulled his shirt over his head. "I'm sorry Nyma. It's a mistake. All of this."

And just like that, the Cuban walked out, leaving the poor girl sobbing all to herself. He used her. He used her for sex, just to feel better of himself. She was just a distraction. Something to take his mind of the one thing he wanted, but knew he couldn't have : Keith.

—————————————————————————————————————————————————

Lance leaned his head against a metal pole for support. He was drained emotionally and mentally. The train jerked a little, causing him to knock his head against the pole. He winced, rubbing his head. His phone buzzed in his pocket, but he ignored it.

He had been ignoring the text messages he received from Hunk, Pidge and Allura. They wanted explanations for why he had acted so the other night, but he wasn't up for telling them how he really felt or what happened.

Guilt and pain swirled in his chest. He knew the way he left Nyma was unacceptable and painful. The poor woman did nothing wrong. And there she was, crying as Lance left her so. Except, he was scared himself.

He didn't know what to do or what he had done. This was all so wrong. 


End file.
